kitchari, is a basic ayurvedic stomach soothing food. it means mixture, in this case, a mix of grain and bean. this simple porridge is very easy on the digestion, filled with soothing and anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin and mustard seeds. great to have for when the digestion is weak, or simply enjoy on the daily.
「kitchari」是「阿育吠陀」裡的基本料理。它的意思是混合，在這是代表穀物和豆子的結合。這是道對消化系統有益的粥，使用溫和、暖胃、抗發炎的香料 - 薑黃、薑、芫荽、孜然和芥末籽。很適合在身體或消化系統不適時當作主食，或單純的每天享用它。
in this recipe, I used mung beans and taiwanese long grain rice, normally it would call for basmati rice, but for a more sustainable choice, I used a local grain. I also used whole dry mung beans and have them sprouted before cooking.
it's very easy to prepare sprouted mung beans but does require time ahead. simply soak the mung beans in water, about 4 times its volume, in a sprouting jar for 6-8 hours. on a chilly day taipei day like this, it is ok to leave at room temperature to soak but change the water once every 3-4 hours. if it's hot, I would throw it in the fridge to soak for 12 hours. if soaking at room temperature, you will see the beans starting to sprout and that's when it's ready to be sprouted. pour the soaking water out of the jar, leave the jar up-side-down sitting in a bowl, rinse every 3 hours until the beans looks like the photo below.
if you don't feel like going through the sprouting process, simply replace with split mung dal.
這個譜用到有機綠豆和有機台灣秈米，通常 kitchari 食譜裡會需要有印度香米，但是我們環保一點用在地的食材。另外再煮之前我還將綠豆催了芽。
催芽很簡單，只是需要花時間。將豆子倒入催芽罐，倒入約4倍體積的水浸泡6-8小時。如果是像現在秋天台北的溫度，是可以放在室溫浸泡的，最好3-4小時換一次水，如果天氣比較熱我建議直接方冰箱12小時。如果是在室溫泡水，過了6-8小時應該就會開始長出小芽，這就代表浸泡時間完成可以開始催芽。將罐子裡的水瀝乾，倒立放在一個碗裡，每3小時沖一次水，直到綠豆看起來像以下照片。
如果沒有時間催芽也沒關係，直接使用綠豆仁也是可以的。
the next process I'm sharing is completely unnecessary. I did it entirely for esthetic reasons, so the porridge can look less green in the photos.
because I'm using whole mung beans, instead of split mung dal, there will be green skin present. it does not effect the taste of the porridge and is totally ok to leave them in. but I'll share how I removed most of the skin anyway.
I first threw the sprouted mung beans in a big pot and filled it with water, moved my fingers around to loosen the skin. then I put the pot on the stove to cook just until it comes to a boil, and removed it from the heat. most of the skin will float to the top, then I used a sieve to remove as much of the skin as I could. I am not encouraging this procedure, it was a pain, and quite impossible to remove all unless you pick them out one by one.
接下來的這個步驟是不必要的，單純為了拍照讓顏色鮮艷一點而這麼做。
因為我用的是整粒帶皮的綠豆而不是綠豆仁，所以煮出來的粥會看起來綠綠的，但這完完全全不影響粥味道。還是讓大家知道我是怎麼將大部分的皮去除的。
首先我把催好芽的綠豆放入一個大湯鍋，用手指把豆子的皮鬆開，放到爐台上煮至沸騰，馬上關火，這時皮會浮起來，就可以把它們用濾網撈起，但無法全部都去除，除非一顆一顆挑。我強烈不推薦這麼做，因為蠻浪費時間的，毫無意義。
// kitchari //
serves two - three
| ingredients |
100 g mung beans, sprouted or split mung dal
1/2 cup local long grain rice or basmati rice (you can also add in some quinoa) 6 cups water 2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1.5 cm ginger, grated 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground white pepper to taste salt
| to serve |
seasonal veggies of your choice
handful of cilantro
| steps | 1. rinse the rice with water until clean, add it along with the sprouted mung beans and water into a pot. bring it to a boil, then turn to low heat to cook for 30 minutes, stir often.
2. in a separate small pot, heat the coconut oil on low heat. add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds to toast until they start to turn colour, add in ginger, give it a stir, turn off heat, then add in the rest of the spices and mix well.
3. once the porridge is cooked, remove from heat and add in the spices mixture. you can add in salt at this point, or how I like it is to sprinkle salt over it before eating. 4. top off with your choice of veggies, cooked or raw and sprinkle with cilantro.
// 阿育吠陀米豆粥 //
2-3 人份
| 食材 |
100 g 綠豆、催芽 or 綠豆仁
1/2 杯 秈米 or 印度香米 （也可以加入少許的藜麥） 6 杯 水 2 湯匙 椰子油
1/2 茶匙 芥末籽 1/2 茶匙 孜然籽 1.5 cm 薑、磨成泥 3/4 茶匙 薑黃粉
1/2 茶匙 孜然粉 1/2 茶匙 芫荽粉
1/4 茶匙 白胡椒粉 適量 鹽
| 配料 |
季節時蔬
香菜
| 步驟 | 1. 用濾網把米洗淨，和催芽綠豆、水一起放入大湯鍋煮沸，調成小火後煮30分鐘，常常攪拌以面底部燒焦。
2. 在另一個小鍋裡放入椰子油小火加熱，加入芥末籽和孜然籽，煮到開始變色馬上放入薑，攪拌後關火，加入其他香料攪拌均勻。
3. 粥煮好後，關火，將香料拌入，這時候可以加鹽調味，或是我喜歡在要吃以前最後灑上。 4. 擺上準備好生的或是熟的季節時蔬和香菜。
